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E3 2013: Respawn and EA Talk Titanfall Exclusivity

At the end of day one of this year’s E3, it appeared that Sony’s laugh was last and loudest. In their show-stealing press conference, they followed their American competitor with a salvo of impressive demos and what could only be called very direct messaging undoubtedly targeted at Microsoft. After the dust settled, however, the battered Microsoft still held an undeniable ace in Respawn Entertainment’s spectacular Titanfall, slated for release exclusively on Xbox platforms as well as PC.

The impressive shooter, which utilizes Valve’s source technology, started life on current-gen machines following the split between Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella and their publisher, Activision. West and Zampella, taking a large number of Infinity Ward employees with them, formed Respawn Entertainment and eventually set to work on Titanfall.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Respawn lead artist Joel Emslie cited numerous reasons for the upcoming title’s exclusivity, including the Xbox One’s always-online featureset, which he states facilitates the game’s multiplayer focus. While Emslie doesn’t rule out an eventual Playstation console release, he states that Xbox One is “where we’re at right now.” To the surprise of nobody, EA Games Label head Patrick Söderlund stated that a business deal between EA and Microsoft is responsible for the console choice, but details are scarce. Titanfall remains exclusive for the time being, and will land on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC this spring.